CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

dkap · Joined: 14 Aug 2008 Posts: 109

CRT Projectors seems like the best fit for this topic, but feel free to move it to Off Topic if that's more appropriate.

I have my Barco 708s control board boxed up for shipping to Curt for servicing, but I can't find any reasonable rates from Oregon (97302) to Canada (V3S 9A4). Curt thought I should be able to find a USPS Ground option for $25, but they don't list it on the website and the guy at the local post office says they haven't offered that since at least before the past 15 mo. he's been there. The cheapest they offer is ~$50 for Priority Mail International.

Likewise, FedEx is right at that $50 price point with International Ground. ($26 with quick quote, but it doubles in price as soon as you enter the package dimensions.) FedEx's website makes it very difficult to tell if the account discount (up to a third off on some stuff) is being applied, but I think that's the discounted rate already.

Has anyone had any luck with other offerings? Courier services, maybe? There shouldn't be a duties issue... Curt thought maybe it's a regional issue with whether USPS Ground is offered.

Dan

CxTurbo · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 425 Location: Ontario, Canada

So I take it won't fit in any of the flat rate shipping boxes USPS offers? Bet that would be the cheapest you could get if so.

dkap · Joined: 14 Aug 2008 Posts: 109

I don't see any flat rate boxes big enough, but even if there were, there isn't a flat rate option to Canada, is there?

The box is 24x18x12, although it could be cut down to a bit less than the 12" height. The length and width are about perfect for the size of the control board with a bit of padding around the edges.

Dan

dkap · Joined: 14 Aug 2008 Posts: 109

I just got one of those stamps.com offers in the mail with $45 in free USPS postage... There's probably a catch, and at the very least it would surely be like trying to cancel the old AOL freebie mailers, but it almost seems like a sign that I should try it out.

Dan

draganm · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 8990 Location: Colorado

well if I go to USPS and enter dimensions 24 x 18 x 8 and a weight of 5 pounds to Canada it comes up as $31. online price for priority mail international- 6 to 10 days. That's where you generate the label and customs forms yourself on-line.
Post office price is $33.45
not sure why your getting 50 bucks

http://ircalc.usps.com/MailServices.aspx?country=10054&m=7&p=5&o=0&l=24&w=18&h=8&g=0&r=True

Sometimes just being off on one dimension will push you up into the next bracket for " dimensional weight". There was a $100. difference for me one time with a large box for fedex ground domestic by just trimming a few inches off one side.

dkap · Joined: 14 Aug 2008 Posts: 109

I don't know if it accounts for the full $27 difference in quotes, but the actual weight is 11.8 lbs, and I don't know that I could trim as much as 4" off the height to get it down to 24x18x8. [edit: Yep, plugging in the actual weight, via the p=5 tag in your URL, bumps it back up to the ~$50 quote, regardless of 8" vs. 12" height. That's a crazy pricing tier.]

Trying different measurements in the calculators is an interesting idea, to see if it changes the tiers for dimensional weight...

Dan

macgyver655 · Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 8508

Yeah, what the hell is up with Canada shipping. I just did some quotes on stuff I have to ship and the prices were nuts. UPS beat USPS by 40 some bucks and they weren't that cheap either. You Canada guys getting nervous about stuff coming from the US or what? Laughing

I can ship this stuff across the US for a fraction of the cost then just across the border from Pa., NY.

I've shipped to Canada tons of times before and I don't remember getting quotes like this.

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 11:05 pm Post subject:

Only problem with shipping USA to Canada via UPS is the brokerage fees. They end up costing more than if you shipped it by USPS

dkap · Joined: 14 Aug 2008 Posts: 109

At least I'm not the only one struggling to find a reasonable shipping option! (That's why I asked the question; I figured others have to be in the same boat.) I played around with the USPS shipping calculator a bit, and they charge a whopping $3/lb (give or take) on top of whatever the base fee is. Basically, their "ground" service is only set up for documents.

Dan

macgyver655 · Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 8508

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 11:17 pm Post subject:

Oh yea. I've had them ask for $60 at the door on a $230 item.

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2012 11:35 pm Post subject:

Get me a damn green card, and this wouldn't be an issue! Razz

macgyver655 · Joined: 22 Aug 2007 Posts: 8508

draganm · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 8990 Location: Colorado

**Curt Palme** · Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2012 6:36 pm Post subject:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBpgcZ1zYJs

dkap · Joined: 14 Aug 2008 Posts: 109

CxTurbo · Joined: 13 Oct 2008 Posts: 425 Location: Ontario, Canada

You think paying retarded shipping and duties on things you buy is bad.

I have had bills from UPS etc. for up to $300 on my own electronics that were sent back to the US for warranty repairs. The buggers nailed me for Brokerage and duties on my own stuff that I have paid taxes on already once. That is a joke! Once for my iScan VP50 Pro and the other was on my 40' Audioquest VGA/RGBHV cable that I had re-terminated.

Regardless, I hope you find a simple solution.

James

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2012 5:38 am Post subject:

draganm · Joined: 08 Mar 2006 Posts: 8990 Location: Colorado